


Maybe you'll trust me someday

by somethingsinister



Category: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Fandom, Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, Moving On, Or not, This is so soft, after tw2, but i aint canon am i, dandelion makes his cameo, dandelion ships them, its kinda out of character, nilfgaard wins the war, reliving old memories, roche is a philosopher idk is this what old age does to you?, tags and warnings will be updated as I go, theyre both so fcking tired and done, travelling, you probably need a map of the world to understand chapter 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:00:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27354610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingsinister/pseuds/somethingsinister
Summary: Vernon Roche is given a place in this new empire Nilfgaard has made, and honestly, he could've gotten unluckier giving how he'd stood against the black ones in the past, and he's not ungrateful, he really isn't. Settling down is just not what someone like him can do - his whole life had been his team and his king. Without this, he's lost.So he starts looking for an old friend who cannot move on either, for old times sake.
Relationships: Iorveth & Vernon Roche, Iorveth/Vernon Roche
Comments: 9
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

Iorveth was tired. Tired of fighting and fighting and trying and trying, but in the end, nothing seemed to change, time ignoring what he did, all the sacrifices he made. What did it take to just be accepted for what he was?

‘but when have angels ever helped me yet?’ he thought bitterly to himself, aimlessly wandering through the forest, not exactly looking for food, but here and there he’d pick a few berries, mushrooms or herbals.

It calmed him a lot not to have planned this day, to just be able to relax, not to fight today. He hadn’t picked a fight in quite some time. What were the Scoia’tael nowadays, really? Most of his fighters had settled down. There were laws made for nonhumans, but what else did they do than protect them?

He wished he could just settle down like the younger elves, but he’s gotten too accustomed to be strolling around in the woods, he’d done to much not to be feared whenever he’d try just to get some food, and even if, even if his fearful attitude would fade someday, his mind would not let him have his peace. He couldn’t simply fight decades of war without it leaving any marks on him.

“Not on your best watch, huh?” a voice from behind startled him. He turned around to look at Vernon Roche.

“Where did you leave your sword? You’re not about to kill me?” he shot back, walking off.

Roche followed along next to him. “Not picking a fight, elf?” the commander teased.

While walking, Iorveth managed to get a good look at Roche. The man seemed older than the last time they parted, more wrinkles around his mouth and eyes made him look tired. “Why would I? Nilfgaard invented a law to protect my people, I’ve gotten what I was fighting for.”

“It’s far from what you’ve started to fight for” Roche noted.

“It’s enough”

“A start, at least”

They both walked in silence for a bit, thoughts spinning in Iorveths head that he couldn’t make sense of. Although he was surprised that Roche wasn’t bothering him at all, in fact, he didn’t mind walking with him.

“What are you even doing here? After all, there aren’t any elves left you can murder.”

“Well, you are”

“If you’re here to ask me a favor about your beloved Temeria that you’ve lost to Nilfgaard, I’ll go home”

“Home? The next tree you see that looks like you can take a nap on it?” Roche asked skeptically. “No, I’m not here for Temeria”

“Since when’s that?”

“I’m retired, and I don’t look forward to going against all of Nilfgaard on my own. I guess the only reason I’ve been so… obsessed… with Temeria is because of Foltest. You know, when a King picks you up from the streets, it stays branded into your mind. I thought restoring Temeria would bring him back, at least pieces of memory. How stupid I’ve been, lost in sorrow and thoughts of revenge”

“I’d never expect you to say this, not even in my weirdest nightmares”

“They say life’s not a dream…” Roche chuckled, receiving a soft punch from Iorveth, but even the elf’s lip curled up at this comment. “but what I’m here for? I’ve kind of missed… this” he gestured around him. “The adventurous atmosphere, the birds chirping, wind rushing through the trees, seeing old faces yet again… Its so boring to just sit in some house Nilfgaard gifted you because you’ve been important once.”

“You don’t seem like an adventurer to me. I’d never even go near any forest without my bow or sword. What if a monster showed up?”

“I’d possibly die. Why would you care? And in case you do, you’d surely protect the both of us”

“I don’t know if I even could. Not in training from murdering D'hoine”

“You know, I’m not so much afraid of monsters anymore. Times change. We have our land, the monsters have theirs, mutual respecting. Also remember Flotsam! A troll cooperating, repairing the human’s bridge. Nothing stays the way it has once been”

“What’s gotten into you? Did you study philosophy since your team died with Temeria? Already that bored?”

“I’ve changed”

“Obviously. So did I. Obviously”

“Why didn’t you settle down, then? If you’ve changed?”

“I couldn’t”

“You could”

\--

They’ve been walking for quite a while when Roche stopped. “Care if we take a break? I’m getting quite old, and I haven’t been training on running around all day lately.”

“Sure, D’hoine” Iorveth agreed “It’s late, we could set up a camp for the night. I suppose you don’t want to sleep on a tree.”

They went just a bit further to find a cave Iorveth knew about. It wasn’t big, but a good shelter for one night. Iorveth took off his belt and chainmail, together with some furs he’d stored there. Roche seemed to have bread with him, and together with what Iorveth had collected earlier it was a nice meal, considering Iorveth hadn’t had bread in ages.

\--

“I honestly don’t get why you’re still out here”

“I’m no dh’oine. I’ve never been longer than necessary in any city, and you expect me to settle down?” Iorveth said, standing next to him leaned onto a tree.

“You don’t want to try, do you?”

“Why would I?”

“You said you’ve changed. But you still despise everything that we humans do or have, did or had. Tell me, how did you change?”

“I settled down in the woods”

“Don’t lie to me. I know you’re still running from something.”

“What are you, my personal stalker?”

“I’ve been looking for you”

“For how long?”

“Doesn’t matter”

“Huh. But you’re right, I did not settle down. What do you want from me?”

Roche paused, overthinking on how to phrase everything he needed to say but not giving away just a piece of what he wanted to say. “As I said, I’ve missed this”

"You missed running around with people who can't get their shit together?" Iorveth intended to hurt the stripes as much as himself.

“I’m no specialist, for sure, but maybe settling down would help you”

“For fucks sake, what is wrong with you?!”

“You don’t get it. You’ve lived in the woods your whole life. What haunts you are your memories. If you’ve never settled down, the only thing holding you back is your stubbornness because its human. Get over your principles, it’s easier than to get over your past.”

“Says you”

“Trust me”

“Trust you?”

“Try it, at least”

“Looks like it didn’t work with you since you’re back here”

Roche stayed silent for a while, until finally mumbling out “I miss people I know. My team is scattered, we don’t work together anymore, and I don’t know anyone else except for them. And you. So I figured since you too are rather a loner I’d come see you”

“You did miss me” the elf mocked.

“I missed company!”

“And your first instance is to look out for me? Moving on isn’t your strength eiter, huh? You could’ve gotten to know new people!”

“And live with knowing I let you sulk out here until you get yourself decapitated?”

“I'm not your responsibility”

Roche sighed. “I’m tired, we can discuss stuff after you’ve murdered me in my sleep” he yawned, then spread his own bedroll out and laid down, easily falling asleep. Oh how he’d missed this feeling of being younger, adventurous and reckless, lightheaded and not worn down with worry, age and lack of sleep, how he’d missed knowing that the sun would shine on another day with people he trusted.

Trust.

Trust is hard to earn – especially if it was abused too much in the past.

Roche doesn’t understand much of it – he’s always trusted his king, Foltest, but after his assassination, his whole world fell apart. Shortly after, the blue stripes fell apart under Nilfgaard and he’s left alone in this world, and the only one he knows it his favorite nemesis, Iorveth. After years, he decided to meet him, maybe it’s a death wish, but when he had finally found the elf, Iorveth seemed to have changed, too. Roche is just a normal human, but even he can smell the distrust radiating off Iorveth like old fish. What happened to the confident elf commander that he’d been once ago?

Their hatred seemed to have faded a little over the years, but he’d need another lifetime, scratch that, he’d need two lifetimes to get the elf to trust him. He’d hunted him down after all, for his king, for Temeria. It was in the past, but neither of them seemed to forget easy enough to let them live a peaceful life.

He knew that going back to search for the elf would shake up old memories, but what Nilfgaard granted him, how Nilfgaard had settled him down wasn’t what he wanted, needed either.

Maybe, if there was such a force as Destiny, or a god, well they clearly hated him. Well, in sorts he couldn’t blame them, but if there was just one hint for a better life, just one!

He’d wait a little longer, he’d wait as long as he needed to.

A single ray of sunshine tickled him awake, and he yet again was reminded of how much he’d needed to get out of these filthy cities and just live like he was 30 years younger again. He sat up and looked around. Iorveth was still asleep on his own bedroll. At least the elf didn’t seem to see him as a threat. Maybe this was what he could get used to. Maybe, he should stick around, wander through the world with Iorveth, and maybe, maybe even make him a friend.

Maybe, with time. A smile crept onto his face as he heard Iorveth sigh contentedly in his dream.

Maybe Iorveth needed this as much as he did..


	2. Chapter 2

From where Roche had found Iorveth in Cintra, the two of them had already crossed old borders walking north. The elf seemed to tolerate him, and if Roche was confident, he’d even dare to say that the elf started to like this company.

“Do you have any destination in mind?” Roche munched out through the food between his teeth. They both had warm blankets slung around them, evenings in Redania were cold. After all, Temeria had always been south of it, end even Aedirn seemed to have been warmer. Maybe he was just getting old, but he couldn’t change this anyways.

“Not really. I want to try to go farther north than Ban Exeter and cross the dragon mountains”

“You really think you can pull that off?”

“Well, if you can’t, I have no problem leaving you here. I’m sure Geralt would let you spend some time in Kaer Morhen. I didn’t plan on stopping there though, I wanted to go through Kovir.”

“When did you decide to do that?”

“I was down in Ebbing, escaping after the black ones captured me.”

“You went from Ebbing up here nonstop? No wonder I wasn’t able to find you!”

“I wouldn’t expect you to search through the deepest pits of Nilfgaard to find me”

“Anyways. I like your plan. In the world I know doesn’t seem to be a place for us, so I’ll stick to you”

“And I thought you’d just missed a little adrenaline kick.”

“To be completely honest” Roche said while stuffing more of the bread he’d bought in a near no-name town into his mouth “I realized I might have missed you too”

“Oh what the fuck” Iorveth exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air “And I thought we were having _one_ nice dinner!”

“You expected to have a nice dinner with _me_? You could’ve taken me out on a date and the result would have been the same”

“Yeah, I did consider a date. I’d get you drunk and leave you to the innkeeper while pissing off alone”

“Thanks, I like you too”

“I know, dh’oine”

Roche threw a glare at Iorveth who was smirking back at him.

“Fucker” Roche muttered, shuffling closer to the fire they’d started to keep them warm.


	3. Chapter 3

"You two fight like a married couple"

Both Iorveth and Roche look up, startled by the shopkeep interrupting their heated discussion. They had agreed on buying Roche a sword since Iorveth didn't want to be responsible for both their safety and they'd need one if they tried reaching unknown regions.

"Listen, you little shit, _we'll buy this one"_ Roche hissed.

"If I disagree we won't find anything until noon and I'm starting to get hungry"

"Possibly. Also, I don't fucking care how my sword looks, quality matters"

"But this one looks fancier" Iorveth pouted.

"Do you think any monster would care? Also, if you'll let me buy this one, you choose what we eat today"

"Deal" Iorveth said and Roche already regretted what he said when a sadistic smile appeared on the elf's face.

\--

He found himself sitting in the back of the local tavern of Roggeven across from Iorveth. They both had hoods drawn deep into their face so they wouldn't be recognized, sipping on their Ales. Roche had to admit that the elf had quite a good taste with that, so he just quietly enjoyed the alcohol. 

"Remember when I said I'd get you drunk to leave you somewhere?" Iorveth grinned.

"I remember that you wanted to take me on a date" Roche countered, also grinning.

"Watch it dh'oine, I just might" 

"Yeah, I totally want to see that. The legendary scoia'tael commander taking his favorite nemesis Vernon fucking Roche out on a date. What are you gonna do? Pluck me some flowers?" Roche couldn't help but snort and Iorveth just laughed outright. 

"Holy fuck, have you ever actually _been_ on a date?"

"Do I look like it?" 

"I don't even want to know. Because if yes, I feel sorry for that poor girl"

"Hey, I'm not that much of an asshole!"

"You tried to kill me multiple times!"

"It's not like you never held your blade to my throat"

"That was self defense!"

Roche snorted again. He found himself enjoying all this, alcohol starting to affect his brain, food filling his stomach just right, and Iorveth was with him. 

He could totally get used to this.


	4. Chapter 4

The roads through Velhad were mostly empty, since the day before they had barely seen anyone cross their path. Eating some fruits they picked on their way, they walked towards the mountains that slowly became visible on the horizon.

"You know, Roche, I've always been wondering. When you defeated me back in Flotsam, why didn't you kill me? We both know my archers weren't approaching" Iorveth said, snatching an apple back out of Roche's hand and taking a bite out of it.

Roche remained silent, focusing on the path beneath him too much for the elfs liking.

Iorveth huffed, kicking a stone in front of Roche's feet. "What's so exciting down there you can't get your eyes off?"

"Sand and stones"

"Not your day, huh? You got your menstruation or what?" 

"I- what the fuck?" This got Roche to startle and look up at Iorveth. "Why would I-" He trailed off when he realized what Iorveth had meant. "Do you regret that I didn't kill you or what?"

"No. I'm just curious. Would be the first time you spared an elf, after all"

"I realized there's no need for me to keep decapitating elves since Foltest died. Besides, I only ever killed the ugly ones"

"You could have messed my beauty up and then killed me"

"That wouldn't be less of a crime to your stunningly handsome looks"

"Are you telling me that every time you look at me you just think I'm too pretty to die? Like, you wake up in the morning, see me and just go like: aww man, that's some real ass beauty over there, let's just not murder him in his sleep because he's too handsome for that" Iorveth took another bite of the apple, nearly choking on it from laughing.

"Don't tell me you and your elven pride never looked at yourself in a puddle and thought that"

"Let me tell you, me and those puddles are the bestest fucking friends. They've seen me in my best days"

"Those days when you were crossdressing?"

"Don't assume we had the same childhood!"

"Rude, but no, I wanna see you in a real fucking dress, Queen"

"Isn't my coat long enough?"

"I said real dress, not your muddy old uniform. Hell, put on a crown and pull it pver your damaged eye!"

"I'm not gonna do it"

"Why? Does crossdressing go against your very manly elven pride?"

"How did we get from you not killing me to me crossdressing?!" Iorveth exclaimed.

"I don't know, but you should definitely try it out"

"Not a chance"

Roche grinned and Iorveth tried to pout, but it looked weird together with his own grin pulling on his mouth.

"The next town we arrive at, I'll buy you a radiant dress"

"I'm not going to wear it, and also, we just spontaneously changed the route, we won't pass through Ban Exeter anymore"

"We need to pass there to stock up the food we need to cross the mountains"

"I know, but I'd rather let you starve than look like I just escaped my wedding"

"Actually, I think there's a village just north of here. Lets go there and skip Ban Exeter, it's shorter and we should be able to get food there as much as in the half-a-year-capital"

"Sounds good"

"If I remember correctly, we might even reach it today"

\--

And Roches memory did not fail him. When the sun set, they were already sitting in a tavern eating pork and baked potatoes with mushroom sauce. 

Iorveth smelled a witcher approaching before the door was thrown open and a big figure entered, smelling of the guts of whatever monster wouldn't see the sun rise tomorrow. The whole tavern went quiet, except for Roche, who was just getting them some ale, simply saying "make it three" To the inkeep and gesturing the witcher to follow him at their table. 

The other people went back to their own plates and continued chattering like nothing happened. After the witcher got his money from the innkeep for whatever contract he had taken, he sat down at their table, gratefully taking a sip of his ale. "Just the right temperature" He sighed content. "Do you two play Gwent?"

The Witcher already had a pack of Skellige cards in his hands when Roche pulled out his Scoia'tael card deck, starting to shuffle it.

"Fucking Fanboy" Iorveth muttered, earning a killing look from Roche.

He let the two of them play their match before pulling out his own deck: Monsters focusing on Vampires. 

After a few rounds, another local man with a stack of Thronebreaker cards came over, joining their match. 

When they parted deep in the night, nobody knew who the other was, but they still had enjoyed their evening as complete strangers.

Roche wondered if the witcher figured that Iorveth was elf, but in the end, the witcher hinself tried not to be recognized as much as Iorveth and him. As much as he could tell, it wasn't Geralt, but how many of the witchers wandering this world did he actually know?

"Roche" Iorveth whispered from his bed on the other side of the room they'd rented for the night.

"Yeah?" He answered, yawning.

"I'm cold. Can I come over?"

"As long as you bring your blanket with you. I'm not that warm either"

He heard the ruffling of fabric, then the elf shoved him aside to make himself comfortable, draping his blanket over the both of them. 

"Let me have some of the pillow, too" Iorveth hissed, tugging at it.

Roche groaned, placing it into the exact middle, and as soon as his head fell onto it again, sleep welcomed him immediately.

\--

Roche had to admit, there was something nice about waking up warm and cozy, with an elf draped all around him. A very naked elf, Roche realized. No wonder he had felt cold.

"What would I be without you?" He whispered, relaxed into the sheets. 

"Probably bored to death" Iorveth breathed against Roches belly that he was using as a pillow.

"Probably" Roche drifted back to sleep, arms slung around Iorveth to keep him just were he was. 

Was this trust? If not, it was close enough, Roche thought. Close enough to be enough for the both of them


	5. Chapter 5

They left early in the morning to get everything they'd need from the market before starting off again, and had been walking for some hours already when suddenly Dandelion appered right in front of them in the middle of the road.

"Did... did it work?" He looked around, then threw a smile at the two startled men.

"You can see him too, right, Iorveth?" Roche mumbled disbelievingly. The elf just nodded.

"Well, hello there, my favourite couple!" Dandelion exclaimed.

"We're not a couple" Roche growled. "How'd you even get here?"

"I, uh... Yennefer and Geralt are ...busy... and I found something funny in Yennefers Laboratory, so I decided to try it out!" 

Iorveth face-palmed while Dandelion did not stop talking. 

"I also tried out something else yesterday night, but when I saw you two sleeping... Congratulations on the sex!"

"What the fuck? We weren't having sex!"

"Not? Well I thought so since I usually sleep with a naked lover in my arms after having good sex!"

"Could we change the topic before you two start murdering each other?" Iorveth interfered.

"I don't even know if I can be murdered through this... magic thingy... here"

"Maybe not, but I do not want to try it out" Iorveth dragged Roche a little behind him, keeping his hand steady around the other mans wrist.

"Fair enough. Ugh, how do I turn this off now? I definitely do not want to ask Yennefer for help, she's going to kill me!" But he seemed to have figured it out quickly since he just vanished like he had appeared. 

And they went on with Roche muttering: "What the fuck", view fixed on the mountains they wanted to cross before them that grew higher and higher with every step they took.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my absence of updating, I always visit my parents over the weekend!  
> And since I am already writing a note, I might put some more information here.  
> I though about adding a chapter where they take contracts for money, but I decided not care about money because I already do so much in real life, so I’ll leave this out here. Let’s just say Roche inherited a part of Foltests money and Iorveth took half the Nilfgaardian wealth with him from Ebbing so were just not gonna worry about that.  
> And no, I definitely did not get inspired by a song I just can't get out of my mind!

The mountains were tough and hard to cross, and they often had to pull up and save each other from a certain fall. Their arms were sore after every day they'd climbed farther, and they've never fallen asleep so easy when the sun set. Since the air up in the mountains only got colder, they always slept entangled in each other, cuddled together in their bedrolls and extra blankets. They started with the sunrise to make the most of the day so they'd reach the other side of the mountains quicker. They sometimes found other hikers that weren't as lucky and well-prepared or hopeful as them, but especially Iorveth never lost his hope, it only seemed to grow with every second that passed.

Roche admired Iorveths determination. His admiration for the elf ran deep, but he didn't let his thoughts wander. Not yet. It was a promise. They were still running from their past, running from the memories that haunt them, running towards a new world to show that life's worth running for.

He hummed a long forgotten song that once had a text of what Roche sometimes remembered shreds of. "Oh let the world come at you, love, and humble you withal, keep running, it's up to you now, love, to run" He stopped, mesmerized by the scenery that opened up before him, and he could see the end of the mountains on the horizon. 

"What song was that you were humming? I feel like I know it" Iorveth came up behind him, letting his gaze wander around until his eye stayed on Roche's features.

"I don't know, heard it once, came to my mind"

They stood close to each other, watching the sun go down together, when Iorveth started to hum.

"Oh let the land come at you, love, with all it's sand and sin, a-singing, a song you once knew well's begun, run until your lungs are numb. Now let the earth a-tumble, love, and humble you withal, keep running, it's not from what we run that drums, but what's to come, what's to come, so run, love run, for all the things we wished we'd done, run from all you know that's coming, run to show that love's worth running to"

They only moved when the sun was down completely and they were embraced in darkness, setting up a camp, falling asleep at night, content, knowing where their hopes lie.

They'd be there, soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Excitement and hopes laid thick in the air when the two of them started to climb down the last mountain.

It's been weeks already and their food was slowly getting to an end. "I swear, if we're in South Nilfgaard I'll kill them all" Iorveth muttered while letting himself drop onto a lower rock. 

"If we were, those mountains wouldn't stand anymore and Nilfgaard would have attacked from the north too"

Iorveth grinned, catching Roche who had been about to land a little ungracefully besides him.

After about two hours, they had arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"Holy shit, we did it" Iorveth breathed out, looking back at the walls of stone they'd crossed.

Roche next to him shifted a little, the elf could feel him stare. When he turned back to look at Roche, the man simply stepped closer to him. 

"We did it" Roche whispered, softly pressing his lips onto Iorveths. As startled as the elf was at the beginning, he immediately melted into the kiss, pulling Roche closer.

"We did it" Iorveth repeated into the kiss, and Roche could feel him smile against his lips.

They parted, simply looking at each other. "Now that's what I call starting a new life. Maybe your world isn't that bad after all!" Iorveth smiled, and Roche had never seen him so full of happiness.

"Do you remember the other world?"

"No, I'm not aen elle"

Roche didn't even question what that was, for what he knew it were elves even older than Iorveth.

They looked around. It wasn't a flat area, rather hilly, a light forest to the east and rather open fields to the west. The sun shone brightly onto them, reminding Roche of Toussaint but uncivilized. But the fairytale like beauty was the same. 

"Now, where to go?"

"There" Iorveth said with sincerity, pointing towards the edge of the forest.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Roche asked.

"One last kiss" Iorveth said, pulling Roche in.


	8. Chapter 8

It's been a year. They found a small village, nonhumans and humans being neighbors, friends, family everywhere, and they were welcomed with open arms. Nobody asked where they came from and they didn't ask the townsfolk about their history either. Here, you live where you are right now and the future, here the past doesn't exist. Dandelion often sends them enchanted letters with Yennefers help so they'd reach them.

"Under Nilfgaard, I couldn't have settled down." Roche leaned back in his chair and smiled lazily

"Me neither, but for my liking, this went too smooth" Iorveth mumbled into Roche's neck, hugging the man from behind.

"I don't care as long as I'm with you"

"I know, my love"

"I got you something. Close your eyes" Iorveth did as he was told. He could hear Roche fumbling with something, then he took the elf's hand, placing a kiss on it while sliding something cold onto his finger. Iorveth blinked his eyes open. Roche held his hand that now had a small silver band around his finger, he turned his head up and Iorveth immediately catched his lips with a kiss. 

"I take it as a yes?" Roche breathed out between kisses.

"Always"

\--

When they celebrated their marriage, Dandelion and Geralt came through a portal to congratulate them, which was a funny expierience of seeing Dandelion trying to drag his friend through the portal he seemed to be afraid of. 

"Geralt, they're right here! No worries." 

After some time and persuation, Geralt gave in to Dandelion and they both toppled over onto the lawn. 

"Geralt, my old friend!" Roche greeted the Witcher. 

"Gwynnbleidd" Iorveth smiled. 

Dandelion hugged them both. "So, my favourite couple finally got together!" he exclaimed.

The two friends stayed for nearly a week before they went to wherever they were, and Roche would lie if he said he hadn't missed his old friends. He even asked Geralt that if he knew where Ves was, he should bring her, but he wasn't able to locate her. Still, he enjoyed seeing the Witcher and the Bard again.

And when he told Geralt how they crossed the mountains, how they'd saved each other, he realized:

This was trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you lots for reading!  
> It's awfully obvious that I usually write my chapters and stories shorter than short, but so far this is the longest thing I've written, and I'm proud that it's nearly 5k words!  
> Thanks for all the nice comments and all those kudos while I wrote this! (I'll have to say that I wrote most of it when I was bored in college, which happens quite often)


End file.
